Game Seven between the Celtics and the Cavs may have been the greatest
game of the Post-Jordan era. You have the great Boston Celtics, the
best team in the league, facing off in a deciding game against The Next
Great One. LeBron stepped up like he did against 
Detroit last year and had a career game, scoring 45 including two three
pointers that kept the game within reach. LeBron definitely has that
champion quality where he can just decide to win and take over a game.
I can't wait to see him do this when he has a better supporting cast -
if he did, the Cavs would have won this game. But he didn't, they
didn't, and Paul Pierce knocked the defending Eastern Conference Champs
out of the playoffs. Pierce played Larry Bird to LeBron's Dominique
Wilkins in this epic and in the end, Pierce got the job done and led
his team - that's right, HIS team - to the Eastern Conference Finals.
For all the talk of the Big Three, Pierce has been the only guy to play
with a fire in his belly in the playoffs. With Ray Allen shooting like
poo and Kevin Garnett playing most of the playoffs like it's November
instead of May, Pierce and Rajon Rondo have had to lead this team. And
they have.
Another point: The Celtics won this game because Pierce
played Russellball and because Doc Rivers finally coached the right
way. He benched Allen in the fourth when he got cold and played Eddie
House over Sam Cassell. He made sure Pierce touched the ball on every
possession and he returned to everything he did right throughout the
regular season. Hopefully he'll treat the conference finals the same
way.
Lottery post coming soon
"[T]he greatest game of the Post-Jordan era"??
Apparently you missed Game 1 of the Spurs-Suns series this year when the Spurs came back to win in double OT. Finley and Duncan(!) both hitting key treys to keep us alive...classic.
Posted by: Aaron | May 22, 2008 at 06:52 PM
Yeah, you can definitely make that argument. That game itself was incredible and it basically ended the Suns as we knew them. But the Celts' Game 7 was a juggernaut against someone who may become one of the greatest players ever. I'd argue that the Spurs game was a great epitomization of the past decade, while the Celtics game has larger implications for the future.
Posted by: Dave G | May 22, 2008 at 09:35 PM
My short list of better games (post-Jordan era meaning after 1998):
2002 Lakers-Kings Western Conference Finals Game 7
2008 Spurs-Suns First Round Game 1
2001 Lakers-Sixers Finals Game 1, where AI took over to beat the Lakers in LA
Posted by: Cassidy Mullen | June 16, 2008 at 08:26 PM